


A Bundle of Screams

by octopus_fool



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Arguing, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 08:18:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10509909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octopus_fool/pseuds/octopus_fool
Summary: When Legolas comes home with a new pet, Gimli is less than enthusiastic about it.





	

Legolas set the bundle into a box as Gimli watched. Something moved in it. 

“What is that? Did you get us something from the market?”

Legolas shook his head. “I found this on the pier. The nest must have fallen down during last night’s storm and there was no sign of the parents. Seagulls usually defend their young if they are still around to care for them.”

Legolas pulled the cloth away slightly. There was as series of high-pitched whistles and a fluffy, speckled head with a prominent, dark beak emerged. Gimli stared at the creature.

“You know you are welcome to help me, don’t you?” Legolas teased when he saw how Gimli stared at the bird.

“What do you want me to do? Get one of Ioreth’s cats? Or do you want me to do it myself?”

“What are you… No! It isn’t even hurt! We are raising it until it can fend for itself.”

“Whyever would you do that?” Gimli asked, aghast. “It will just be a nuisance, causing dirt, chaos and sleepless nights… and noise! Just think about the racket it will create! Do you really want to take this thing back to Ithilien with us?”

“I thought we could extend our stay here in Minas Tirith for a bit,” Legolas suggested. “A seagull doesn’t take long to grow up, only a few weeks. I couldn’t just let the little creature perish.”

“A few weeks!” Gimli stood up and shook his head. “There is no way I am going to let that thing turn our life upside down for that long! If you can’t stand to see it die, give it to Eldarion, he is just the right age to enjoy something like that. Or give it to Eowyn, she’d take good care of it too. But there’s no good reason to sacrifice our plans over that bird! I’m certainly not helping you do something so ridiculous and foolhardy!”

By now, Legolas had straightened up as well, his full attention on Gimli and not on the young bird. “If your plans to design a new plumbing system with Faramir can’t wait, you’ll just have to go ahead without me. I’ll follow once the little one can survive by itself.”

Gimli stared at Legolas for a moment, then stormed out.

Legolas shook his head. It wasn’t like Gimli to be this uncaring. Sighing, Legolas got out a dropper to get some water into the young seagull. Food would have to wait until he had cooked a fish broth.

 

Contrary to what Legolas had expected, Gimli didn’t leave for Ithilien. He returned to their house on the fifth level later that evening, his face not unlike the storm clouds that had swept over the city the night before.

“Are you really going to take that upon yourself?” he asked Legolas.

“Yes, I’ve told you I will. It isn’t that much work.”

Gimli huffed and left the room. 

“What makes this bird worse than that foal we raised a few years ago?” Legolas called after him.

“It’s one of those accursed seagulls!”

And with that, Gimli slammed a door behind him and was gone. 

As he fed more fish broth to an enthusiastic young seagull, Legolas tried to remember whether Gimli had ever shown a particular dislike for the seagulls down at the pier of the Anduin, but he couldn’t remember anything. He couldn’t even recall a seagull stealing food from Gimli.  
Whatever the cause for this was, they had had worse arguments. It would sort itself out over time.

 

Aearmir, as Legolas decided to call the seagull, grew and thrived. He screamed for food with shrill whistling sounds whenever Legolas approached and soon, he had grown enough to leave his box.

The day on which Gimli and Legolas had planned to leave for Ithilien came and went. Gimli stayed. He glared at Aearmir with contempt and spoke little to Legolas. Sometimes Legolas saw as he watched from the doorway when Legolas fed Aearmir, but he always pretended he had been doing something else when he saw Legolas looking. 

 

As Aearmir’s screams grew louder, his appetite increased. Until one day, Aearmir refused the fish broth Legolas offered him. He only ate a little that evening.  
The next morning, Legolas left to buy fresh fish before Gimli or the gull woke. When he returned, he offered Aearmir both fish broth and little pieces of fish, but the seagull only ate a tiny bit.

 

When Aearmir continued to only eat little, Legolas mentioned his worries to Gimli over dinner.

“I’m afraid that Aearmir may have taken ill. He is not eating properly.”

Gimli snorted. “Don’t worry, the bird is fine.”

“But he needs to eat if he is to grow and thrive!”

“Does he seem unwell or less active?” Gimli asked.

“Well, no, he just isn’t eating, but…”

“Then he should be alright,” Gimli said, as though that solved everything. He turned back to his stew and continued eating.

“I can’t believe you care that little about another living creature,” Legolas said.

Gimli slammed down his cutlery and got up, nearly causing his chair to topple over.

“If that is what you choose to believe, then so be it,” he said and left, banging the door shut after him.

Legolas stared after him. That hadn’t been the reaction he had expected.

 

It was several hours before Gimli returned home. Legolas set down the broth Aearmir was finally eating and left the kitchen to follow Gimli.

“Gimli.”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“I’m bringing Aearmir to Eowyn tomorrow.”

Gimli finally looked at him, his eyes wide. “But you love that stupid bird.”

“I love you more and if this is going to be such an issue between us, I will give Aearmir away to be cared for by somebody else. Is that what all this is about? Are you jealous of him?”

Gimli huffed. “Of course not.”

“Then why do you mind him so much?”

Gimli scowled, turned away from Legolas and folded his arms in front of him.

Legolas waited for a reply, but Gimli remained silent.

Legolas was just about to give up and go back to feeding Aearmir who was starting to cry out to make his displeasure known, when Gimli finally spoke.

“That’s why I don’t like it. All the racket it makes.”

“All of this because of a little noise?”

“It’s not just a little noise though, is it?” Gimli retorted. “I fed that damn bird so that it would finally be silent, but it keeps crying.” His voice became so quiet Legolas almost had to strain his ears to understand him. “I don’t want you to go. I couldn’t stand to lose you.”

Legolas stared at him in bewilderment. “Why would I leave you because of a seagull’s cries?” He paused. “Oh. You think…”

“This makes you damn leaf-ears want to leave, to sail across the sea, doesn’t it? And you bring one of these things into the house, listen to its horrible screams all day and you just expect me to watch it all happen? I always thought I would be the one to die and leave you behind and now… I don’t know how you could ever bear the thought of being left behind…” 

Gimli’s voice became more and more strangled as he spoke. Legolas watched his back begin to shake as he fell silent. Legolas stared at him for a moment, then hurried over and slung his arms around his back.

“Gimli. _Gimli_. I’m not leaving. This isn’t how this works. I have the sea-longing in me, yes. It awoke the first time I heard a gull’s cry, all those years ago on the corsairs’ fleet. But it is a dull, constant longing that does not get worse when I hear another seagull scream. It is always there, but it is not so bad that it will compel me to leave Middle-earth, not until you have lived out your years.”

Gimli turned his head around. “It is not making it worse?”

Legolas bent down to kiss the damp trail beneath Gimli’s eyes. “No. I do not wish to be parted from you. Even in the far future when I do depart from Middle-earth, I will find a way to stay with you. This racket, as you call it, it will not take me from you. I promise.”

Gimli leaned back into Legolas’ arms and released a deep breath. “Then I apologise for making such a fuss about it. And I don’t mind if that silly piece of poultry stays. He is quite entertaining, after all.”

Aearmir chose that moment to waddle into the room, displeased that his demands for more food weren’t being met.

Gimli groaned. “Except when he keeps interrupting us. Just throw him a piece of fish.”

“But he needs the broth...” Legolas protested.

Gimli laughed, the rumble of it sending a pleasant tingle down Legolas’ spine. “Only because you are spoiling him and not seeing how much he has grown. He ate normal fish just fine when I fed him. And as long as he is busy working on taking a fish apart, he won’t interrupt us. I’ve missed you, you know.”


End file.
